Banks give double less loans Nov 2008 Bulgarian banks have BGN 351.7 million of new corporate and household loans in November as the recent credit boom of 60% growth rates came to an end, showed data of the central bank. The average monthly loan volume shrank to BGN 1.2 billion in the past six months from BGN 1.1-1.4 billion in 2007 as new loan numbers halved from the previous month ex... Small urban blocks back into vogue amid crisis As the global financial crisis rips on, small residential buildings are coming back into fashion, construction prices are almost halving, home prices are coming down, and off-plan sales are dying out, investors said. Investors who have announced big-scale projects will never start to build, and major international companies and investment funds wil... Non-banking lenders gain ground despite high cost Customers have started in the past two or three months to switch from banks to non-banking consumer lenders in spite of the higher prices, said executive directors of some of the key market players. One of the standouts is BNP Paribas Personal Finance, whose customer base has expanded since banks started to scrutinise loan applicants. The Christmas... Office space demand/supply to reach parity in 3 years The Bulgarian office space market will reach saturation point within the next three years, an outlook that means some properties will have vacancy problems while others will make it off the drawing board, said Sergei Koinov, CEO of commercial real estate services provider Forton International. There is still an undersupply of premium office space w... Slovenias Mercator among host of retailers primed to enter Bulgarian market The brief lull on the Bulgarian retail market has come to an end with a bevy of new players announcing concrete plans for start of their local operations. Market sources said Slovenian retailer Mercator has already picked the locations for its first outlets in Bulgaria. The company itself is still keeping mum on its plans for the local market. The ...